"A spark neglected makes a mighty fire."
Summer is hot and humid in Bangladesh, and more so in Dhaka which we all love to hate. Dhaka is the centre of human activity, characterized by extensive infrastructure, buildings, and roads. But this extensive infrastructure brings about a huge problem.
The abundance of concrete, asphalt, and other heat-absorbing materials in urban areas creates what is known as the urban canyon effect of which Dhaka is a prime example. Tall buildings and narrow streets trap heat and inhibit airflow, leading to the accumulation of heat within the city. Throw in various industrial processes, vehicle exhaust, and the lack of vegetation, you get a blazing and searing hot city for the ages.
The main reason behind this reputation is the fact that it is a jumbled urban landscape. There is no denying that Dhaka is an extremely unplanned city, and Bangladesh is fully centred around Dhaka. Since independence, every year, people have been flocking towards the city. And it is growing at an unprecedented rate.
The result of this is the constant housing and facilities shortages. The rate at which people are flocking towards the city nowhere matches the rate at which regulated and planned infrastructure might get built. So, people start to make structures without any planning just to meet people’s needs.
When cells start to grow in a rapid and unplanned way, we get cancer. Thus, we can imagine when city structures start to be built similarly, disaster is bound to happen at some point.
To be frank, it is happening constantly around us all the time. We just tend to forget about it after a while. Even if we only limit the disasters to fire hazards, there were Tazreen Fashion Factory Fire, Nimtoli Fire, Chawkbazar Fire, and two popular markets for affordable clothing Bongobazar and Krishi Market, etc to name a few. And everywhere the reason is the same. Unregulated and unplanned structures, built for the maximization of profit.
Let’s look at the most recent example at Bailey Road. The building was indeed faulty without any fire safety but the reason behind the fact that this building was without any fire safety measures lies within our perception of society. A prime example of what I am trying to say can be explained from the post of the architect Khan Md Mustapha Khalid, who designed the new Gawsia twin tower building at Satmasjid road in Dhanmondi.
There, he said that it was designated to be built as a commercial space for offices or shops. But the owner just bypassed all the regulations to make it a tower of multiple restaurants. And the restaurants blocked the fire exits. The incident revealed the underlying social and systemic issues that contributed to the severity of the incident. Most of the commercial buildings are illegally constructed and do not comply with building codes or zoning regulations.
How are we supposed to get out of this?
Corruption, careless enforcement of regulations, and inadequate urban planning allowed for the proliferation of unsafe and overcrowded structures in Dhaka city. We have grown accustomed to it. There is a full generation who grew up thinking this is the natural way to get things done. Addressing social problems requires collective action and systemic change at multiple levels, including government policies, community initiatives, education, advocacy, and grassroots movements.
By raising awareness, promoting social justice, and working towards inclusive and equitable solutions, societies can strive to mitigate the impact of social problems and create a more just and compassionate world for all individuals. And this can be done, albeit slowly.
In the past, there was a very limited scope for passing down information. So, people only knew whatever he or she saw, read, and heard around them. But now we are more exposed to the outside world. I have already seen that the current generation is more concerned about the environment, about doing things in a proper way and being tolerant of other people. There will always be people who are afraid of change but the revolutions came from the people who dared to change.
I believe if we can change the mentality of the people, with lots of effort, Dhaka can still be decentralized. But before that, tragedies will keep happening.
Shafin Haque Omlan is a Research Associate, Bangladesh Institute of Governance and Management.
